Fob-key-ring assembly

ABSTRACT

A fob-key-ring assembly and method of joining same in which the fob is provided with an attaching bar extending linearly along one edge of the fob at a spaced distance therefrom, and the keyring is formed with a base and a key engaging bail portion. A securing sleeve extends from the ring base to encircle and journal the fob attaching bar to provide the fob-key-ring assembly with the fob subject to pivoting with respect to the key ring about the attaching bar axis. Assembly is accomplished by forming the securing sleeve as a longitudinally split cylinder in which the attaching bar is positioned when the sleeve is separated along the split line, and which is closed by passing the assembly beneath a pressure roll.

[ Fan. 1,1974

[ FOB-KEY-RHNG ASSEMBLY [75] Inventor: Kermit Woipin, Atlantic Beach,

[73] Assignee: Hit Sales Corporation, New York,

[22] Filed: Mar. 22, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 236,944

[52] US. Cl. 70/459 [51] Int. Cl A47g 29/10 [58] Field oflljiifILJJJLLLLLLLQLlQEL 2 24/3 K, 3 M; 59/85, 93; 63/] R, 2, 20, 22

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 736,606 8/1903 Lamb 24/3 MFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 278,702 ll/l964 Netherlands 70/456 RFrance 24/3 K France 63/23 Primary Examiner-Robert L. WolfeAttorney-Robert W. Fiddler [57] ABSTRACT A fob-key-ring assembly andmethod of joining same in which the fob is provided with an attachingbar extending linearly along one edge of the fob at a spaced distancetherefrom, and the key-ring is formed with a base and a key engagingbail portion. A securing sleeve extends from the ring base to encircleand journal the fob attaching bar to provide the fob-key-ring assemblywith the fob subject to pivoting with respect to the key ring about theattaching bar axis. Assembly is accomplished by forming the securingsleeve as a longitudinally split cylinder in which the attaching bar ispositioned when the sleeve is separated along the split line, and whichis closed by passing the assembly beneath a pressure roll.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 1 FOB-KEY-RING ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention relates to the art of key-rings and moreparticularly to an improved key-ring and fob assembly in which the fobis'pivotally secured to the keyring by means of a sleeve member which isadapted for positioning by means of a simple pressure roll facilitatingassembly.

Fobs have long been associated with key-rings to facilitate marking ofthe key-ring, to provide decorative attachments for the key-ring, or toprovide a handle member to implement manipulation of the key-ring.

To this end, a variety of key-ring and fob shapes have been evolved. Thesimplest fob attachment involved the formation of the fob with anaperture so that the fob may be threaded onto the key-ring. This ofcourse reduces the available key carrying capacity of the keyring, andwhere the fob is small, results in the fob being confused with the keys.

Where the fob is secured to a non-key-carryingportion of the key-ring,the key-ring often becomes undesirably bulky, and the structure becomesrelatively expensive to produce and assemble. Thus, if the fob is weldedor otherwise rigidly joined to the rim of the ring, the ring size isincreased and manufacture and use become unwieldly.

Where the fob is hingedly secured to this ring to produce a relativelycollapsible structure, the hinging structures such as links or chains,increase production cost of both material and assembly time. Relativelyexpensive assembly equipment or relatively skilled assembly workers mustbe employed, thus raising. production costs to a point often making thenormally inexpensive key-ring un'economical of production.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION It is with the above considerations inmind that thepresent fob-key-ring assembly has been evolved providing arelatively inexpensive structure, subject to simple assembly byunskilled workers and providing a fob attached to a key-ring in a securefashion facilitating handling of the ring by means of the fob andmanipulation of the keys on the ring, with the fob subject to beingfolded over on the ring to minimize the volume occupied by the assemblywhen in use.

It is accordingly among the primary objects of this invention to providea fob-key-ring assembly subject to rapid and inexpensive assembly byrelatively unskilled workers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fobkey-ring assemblyin which the components may readily be oriented to occupy a relativelyminimal volume in the pocket or purse of a user.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fobkey-ring assemblysubject to ready contouring of a desired decorative shape.

These and other objects of the invention which will become hereafterapparent are achieved by forming a fob with an attaching bar extendinglinearly along one edge of the fob at a spaced distance from the fobedge. A key-ring is formed with a linearly extending base portion and akey engaging bail portion. An elongated sleeve-extends from the baseportion of the key ring to encircle the attaching portion of the fob.The sleeve is split along a longitudinal side thereof. Assembly isaccomplished by forming the sleeve open along the split.

' veyor belt, assembly of the fob and key-ring may readily beaccomplished.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of afob-key-ring assembly made in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing the key ring in openposition;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of a detail showing thekey ring base, sleeve, and fob attaching bar, before asembly;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an apparatus used for attaching the fobto the key ring;

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 66 of FIG. 5illustrating the pressure roll closing the sleeves to join the fob tothe key-ring; and FIG. 7 is a partial transverse sectional view throughthe open securing sleeve before assembly illustrating the preferredrelative sizes of the sleeve components.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, wherelike numerals in the various FIGURES are employed to designate likeparts, a fob-key-ring assembly 10 embodying the teaching of theinvention is illustratively shown in FIG. 1. The assembly 10 comprises akey-ring portion generally designated 11 to which is attached a fobgenerally designated 12.

The key-ring portion 11 comprises a base 14 with a key engaging bail 16secured thereto by a pivot pin 18 so that the bail 16 may be moved fromthe position shown in FIG. 1 to that shown in FIG. 3. In the illustratedembodiment the base portion is shown as formed of a hollow elongateconfiguration.

A sleeve 20 as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5 is provided of a longitudinallysplit cylindrical configuration. In the illustrated embodiment sleeve 20is formed integral with key-ring base 14, the sleeve and base being bentfrom a single piece of sheet material into the shape as best seen inFIG. 4.

Fob 12 is illustratively shown as of a keystone shape, rounded at itsbroader end. Along one edge of the fob extending linearly at a spaceddistance from said fob edge is an attaching rod 24 which is preferablycircular incross-section. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 4 the attaching bar ismaintained at a spaced distance from the fob edge between ears 25.

Turning now to more detail of construction, the fob base 14 isillustratively shown as in the form of a hollow closed channel havingsides 26, 28, top 30 and bottom 32. The base 14 may be made from asingle piece of sheet metal which is formed into a closed loop (asviewed in cross-section) with the abuting edges 34 disposed at thebottom of the base 14.

In the illustrated embodiment, the sleeve 20 is formed integrally withkey-ring base 14 by shaping the sleeve from an extension of the sheetmaterial used in forming the base 15. As seen in FIGS. 4 and 7, thesleeve is initially formed into an open loop section 36 which isultimately formed into the aforementioned closed loop by bringing theloop edge 38 against loop edge 39 to form the longitudinally splitclosed cylinder as seen in FIG. 1. The sleeve 20 may be formed from thesame piece of sheet material which makes up the hollow channel definingthe base 14 by extending a longitudinally intermediate portion of sheetmaterial from the aforementioned edge 32 of the base 14, which as shownin FIG. 4 is bent at right angles to the base bottom 32.

The top 30 of the base 14 has a portion cut away at one longitudinal endto provide an opening 40 in the top 30 to receive the pivot end of theleg 42 of the keyring bail 16. The end portion of pivot leg 42 ispivotally supported in the aforesaid opening 40 by the pivot pin 18which extends through the sides 26, 28 of the base 14. The top 30 of thebase has another portion cut away defining a latch opening 44 whichreceives the free end of latch leg 46 of U-shaped bail 16. Thus, it willbe seen that the ring 16 may be pivoted about pin 18 between a closedposition (FIG. 1) and an open position (FIG. 3). In order to lock thebail 16 in a key retaining position, a detent notch 50 will engage theouter edge 52 of the opening 44 with a spring bias which is provided byselecting the distance between the ends of the two legs 42, 46 of thebail 16 so that it is necessary to flex the bail 16 by urging the twolegs 42, 46 towards one another when opening and closing the ring. Thespringing of the bail legs 46 and 42 to bring them together is attainedby forming an entry tip 51 beneath detent notch 50 with the entry tiptapered downwardly toward the leg 42 so that the lower end of leg 46 isforced toward leg 42, as entry tip 51 rides over edge 52 of latchopening 50 as best seen in FIG. Thus when the free end of the leg 46 ofbail l6 beyond the notch 50 passes below the outer edge 52 of opening44, the leg 46 of ring 10 will spring out and the detent notch 50 willlockingly engage the outer edge 52 of the latch opening 44. The notch 50in the ring 10 may be generally V-shaped with the juncture of the Vlocated closest to the terminating end of the leg 46 of the ring 16 asbest shown in FIG. 2. This arrangement presents a barb-like projectionbeneath the edge 52 to prevent inadvertant disengagement between thelatch edge 52 and the detent notch 50.

In order to close the ring 16, it is only necessary to pivot the latterabout pin 18 into closed position (FIG. 1) whereby the entry tip 51ofleg 46 will initially be received in the opening 44, and uponcontinued pivotal movement, will be urged toward the other leg 42 byengagement with the outer edge 52 of opening 44 until the leg 46 snapsinto closed position as the notch 50 receives the outer edge 52 ofopening 44.

To open the ring 10 it is only necessary to grasp the two legs 42, 46 ofthe ring and squeeze them together to release the notch 50 from theouter edge 52 of opening 44 and then pivot the ring 10 about pin 18 toits open position as seen in FIG. 3.

Assembly of the fob 12 to the key-ring 11 is accomplished by positioningthe attaching bar 24 of fob 12 in the open sleeve secured to thekey-ring base 14. Thereafter by bringing the sleeve edges 38 and 39against each other to close the sleeve 20, assembly is effected.

In accordance with the invention, desired assembly for commercialproduction is most readily attained by the utilization of a relativelysimple conveyor fed pressure roll mechanism permitting a relativelyunskilled operator to effect production. Thus after the fobs arepositioned with their attaching bars 24 in the open sleeves 20 the foband key-ring are passed beneath a pressure roll to effect sleeveclosure.

This may be most expeditiously accomplished by means of a press 54 shownin FIGS. 6 and 7. The press 54 comprises a pair of rolls 56, 58 mountedfor rotation in bearings carried on support stands 60, 62. The lowerroller 56 is driven by a motor 64.

An endless conveyor belt 66 is trained over the driven roll 58 and idler68 such that the upper run of the conveyor belt 66 passes between thetwo rolls 56 and 58. The conveyor idler roll 68 is mounted for rotationin suitable bearing means 70, 72 carried on a frame 74 on which thesupport stands 60, 62 are also mounted. The motor 64 which drives theroller 58 also drives the conveyor 66 inasmuch as the conveyor belt 66passes around the roller 58.

In order to assemble the fobs 12 on to the rings 10, an operator needonly place the rod 24 of fob 12 into the open sleeve 20 (FIG. 4) andplace the partial assembly onto the conveyor 66. The conveyor 66 willcarry the assembly to a position between the rolls 56, 58 whereby thelatter will engage and compress the open sleeve 20 to close the latteras best seen in FIG. 6.

It should be noted that the width of the sleeve as viewed in lateralcross-section while in open condition (see FIG. 4) and in closedcondition (FIG. 2) is greater than the thickness of the base 14 and thering 10 so that the rollers 56 and 58 function to close the loop withoutinterference from the base 14 or ring 10.

It has been found that maximum efficiency of production insuringalignment of the sleeve edges 38 and 39 is attained by forming thesleeve as shown in FIG. 5, so that in open position the opposed circularsections each having a radius r are joined by a straight section I inwhich the radius r of each of the two circular sections equals thelength of the straight line section I.

In using the press, an operator needs only to grasp a key ring in onehand, a fob in the other, place the rod 24 of the fob into open loop 20,and then place the partial assembly randomly anywhere on the conveyor66. The latter will, of course, carry all sub-assemblies placed thereonto the rollers 56 and 58. Thus it will be seen that it is relativelysimple to assemble the key ring and fob, particularly where the operatorcan place the sub-assembly anywhere on the upper run of the conveyor 66.The assembled key rings with fob may pass from between the roller 56 and58 and drop into a container (not shown).

The above disclosure has been given by way of illustration andelucidation and not by way of limitation, and it is desired to protectall embodiments of the hereindisclosed inventive concept within thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fob-key-ring assembly comprising: a key-ring having an elongatedbase portion; a fob having an attaching bar secured at one edge of saidfob and spaced from the fob body; and a securing sleeve on said baseportion of said key-ring portion encircling said attaching bar on saidfob, said base portion and said securing sleeve formed of a single sheetof material bent to form said base portion and securing sleeve asseparate parts of an integral unit.

2. A fob-key-ring assembly as in claim 1 in which said attaching bar isdimensioned to freely rotate about its axis in said securing sleeve.

3. A fob-key-ring assembly as in claim 1 in which said sleeve is thickerin cross-section than said fob or said key-ring.

4. A fob-key-ring assembly as in claim 1 in which said key-ringcomprises: a generally U-shaped bail on one end portion of said baseportion; latch means on said other leg of said bail; a detent on saidbase portion operable to releasably lock said other leg to said basemember in a position where the ring element and base member form aclosed loop; and said sleeve extending from the side of the base portionopposite to that from which the ring element extends.

5. A fob-key-ring assembly according to claim 4 wherein said base andsleeve are made from a single sheet of material formed into a hollowchannel with said sleeve extending from said channel.

6. A fob-key-ring assembly according to claim 5 wherein said channel hascutout sections for receiving the legs of said U-shaped ring element.

7. A key-ring according to claim 5 wherein said channel is formed with adetent opening adjacent one longitudinal end of said channel with anouter edge of said opening defining a detent for said latch.

85. A fob-key-ring assembly according to claim 7 wherein said latchmeans on said leg of said bail is formed by a notch which engages saidouter edge of said detent opening.

9. A fob-key-ring assembly according to claim 8 wherein the distancebetween the two legs of said bail is selected so that in lockedposition, the resiliency of the bail urges said other leg of said bailto biasingly engage said detent edge.

1. A fob-key-ring assembly comprising: a key-ring having an elongatedbase portion; a fob having an attaching bar secured at one edge of saidfob and spaced from the fob body; and a securing sleeve on said baseportion of said key-ring portion encircling said attaching bar on saidfob, said base portion and said securing sleeve formed of a single sheetof material bent to form said base portion and securing sleeve asseparate parts of an integral unit.
 2. A fob-key-ring assembly as inclaim 1 in which said attaching bar is dimensioned to freely rotateabout its axis in said securing sleeve.
 3. A fob-key-ring assembly as inclaim 1 in which said sleeve is thicker in cross-section than said fobor said key-ring.
 4. A fob-key-ring assembly as in claim 1 in which saidkey-ring comprises: a generally U-shaped bail on one end portion of saidbase portion; latch means on said other leg of said bail; a detent onsaid base portion operable to releasably lock said other leg to saidbase member in a position where the ring element and base member form aclosed loop; and said sleeve extending from the side of the base portionopposite to that from which the ring element extends.
 5. A fob-key-ringassembly according to claim 4 wherein said base and sleeve are made froma single sheet of material formed into a hollow channel with said sleeveextending from said channel.
 6. A fob-key-ring assembly according toclaim 5 wherein said channel has cutout sections for receiving the legsof said U-shaped ring element.
 7. A key-ring according to claim 5wherein said channel is formed with a detent opening adjacent onelongitudinal end of said channel with an outer edge of said openingdefining a detent for said latch.
 8. A fob-key-ring assembly accordingto claim 7 wherein said latch means on said leg of said bail is formedby a notch which engages said outer edge of said detent opening.
 9. Afob-key-ring assembly according to claim 8 wherein the distance betweenthe two legs of said bail is selected so that in locked position, theresiliency of the bail urges said other leg of said bail to biasinglyengage said detent edge.